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Thursday, February 20, 2014

I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of making frosting. It's too fussy, seems like it takes far too much butter and sugar to make it "perfect", and in the end I'm a horrible piper when it comes to cake decorating. Most of the time when I bake, the results are adorned with a sprinkle of raw sugar, if anything, with notable exceptions being celebration cakes. However, I do have a bit of a thing for minimalist, not-too-sweet icings and glazes, especially on brownies - and doubly especially if they are of the rich, bittersweet fudgy variety. My university cafeteria used to make the best blondies crowned with a thick layer of that dark chocolate heaven, and to date I never knew just what they did to make it so good!

That said, I'm willing to give it the old college (sorry) try, and I think I've found something close - not to mention vegan, gluten free, glossy and perfect to dip everything from cupcakes to cookies as well as for pouring over brownies or cake. Setting up like a firm, yet slightly soft fudge, it also and has a delicate hint of coconut flavour thanks to the Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil I used as a base. The recipe doesn't use any chocolate, but instead gets its colour, flavour and (never-blooming) shine from my favourite cocoa powder, icing sugar and potato starch. All in all, it's definitely spoon-worthy and a definite keeper in my file!